Shad: ‘Nature isn’t just a pastime, it’s a practical and spiritual need’

To mark his two decades in hip hop, Shad has released his first album, When This is Over, on limited edition vinyl. The collection’s title shows how fragile the emcee considered his fledgling rap career at the time, which makes sense. In 2005, it was hard to imagine a Canadian immigrant kid named Shadrach Kabango making a dent in the scene, especially not with an album that cost him $17,500 to record and had lyrics referencing the genocide in his parents’ home country of Rwanda. 

But then the world’s hunger for hip hop from all corners — even Canada — became insatiable. That appetite is in no small part thanks to Shad, who shared his exuberant love of the genre over four seasons of Hip Hop Evolution, a four-season Netflix smash that took viewers into rap’s most obscure, weird and wonderful niches. The show won him an Emmy and Peabody, to join his Juno and the five times he’s made the Polaris Music Prize shortlist, more than any other Canadian musician. 

Raised in London, Ont., Shad told The Narwhal his love of Canada’s beauty really took root during his time on the West Coast. Here’s what else he had to say about his relationship with the natural world when he took our Moose Questionnaire. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity — all opinions are the subject’s own. 

What’s the most awe-inspiring natural sight you’ve witnessed between the Pacific, Atlantic, 49th parallel and Hudson Bay, i.e. Canada?

The Pacific. The Atlantic is beautiful but there’s something dramatic and very affecting about the Pacific Ocean. I’m very grateful to have lived in Vancouver for a few years and also to have visited places like Haida Gwaii for shows.  

What’s the most awe-inspiring natural sight you’ve witnessed outside of Canada? 

The redwoods in Northern California were otherworldly. I first saw them at night during a full moon which made them look even more enormous and alive. I also went on a gorilla trek in the mountains in Rwanda. A gorilla grabbed my arm at one point! Very cool/scary.

Think of three iconic Canadian animals. Choose one each to kiss, marry and kill. 

Kiss: Cod (cause it’s socially acceptable at least)

Marry: Cow (for the money)

Kill: Crab (for the food) 

Name a person or group doing something meaningful for the environment that everyone should know about.

I think of organizations and people in my industry: Music Declares Emergency. The Weather Station. Sarah Harmer. Snotty Nose Rez Kids. JB The First Lady. Caroline Brooks. All of them articulate a love for the land in their music, if not also in their advocacy. 

Name one person who could significantly help mitigate the climate crisis if they really wanted to. 

Donald Trump. 

Outdoor cats: yes or no? 

Yes.

Tell us about a time you changed your mind about something, environmental or otherwise.

I used to not understand camping. Now I understand it. I still don’t like it. But I understand the appeal. 

Tell us about a time you tried to change someone else’s mind about something, environmental or otherwise. 

I spent a couple of years in my 20s trying to live without a credit card because I didn’t like that I wasn’t allowed to just use the money I made. I learned in my early 20s that I was supposed to have a credit card — a.k.a. borrow money constantly at 20 per cent interest — in order to “build credit” and I deeply resented that. 

It seemed obvious to me that the person with the “best credit”— the most attractive borrower in the eyes of lenders — should be the person responsible enough to not live beyond their means, not the person who had been borrowing and repaying money needlessly since they were 18. Anyways, living without a credit card led to many exhausting conversations with everyone from hotel desks to airlines to family arguing my point of view. I changed no one’s mind and everyone I talked to hated me, so I stopped. 

Yes, you have to choose: Rocky Mountains or Great Lakes? 

Hurts to betray my Southern Ontario roots but Rocky Mountains. 

Researchers at Yale University, the France-based Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society and other institutions have found women tend to be more concerned about climate change than men. Why do you think that is? 

That is interesting. I don’t know. Maybe because men are socialized to suppress our emotions, so we lack the emotional resilience required to look squarely at such a massive, existential problem for long enough to properly process it? 

If you could dip a toe off Canada’s coastline, which ocean would it be in?

I’ll go with the Atlantic. I’ve given a lot of props to the Pacific already!

What’s a beautiful or useful thing you’ve owned for a really long time?

I don’t have a lot of stuff. I have a few old photos I’ve clung to. 

What’s the farthest north you’ve ever been and what did you do there?

I’ve been to Nahanni National Park Reserve in the Northwest Territories! Amazing experience — for the 100th anniversary of the national parks system. 

What’s one way you interact with the natural world on a daily basis?

I go for walks around my neighbourhood and make sure to look up and breathe. See the tops of the trees, feel the fresh air in my lungs. Just to be reminded that the world is a lot bigger than whatever is in my laptop and my home work setup. 

If you could ask one person, alive or dead, about their thoughts on climate change, who would it be? 

Barack Obama. I think he would have his head around the situation — politically, scientifically, technologically — but also could explain it well to someone like me.  

Yes, you have to choose: smoked salmon or maple syrup?

Smoked salmon, easily. 

Who, in your life, has had the greatest impact on your connection to nature?

I can’t think of one person but my years living in Vancouver. Neighbours, friends, activists, especially hearing Indigenous land defenders talk about their connection to the land, water, salmon. Many experiences there lead me to understand that connecting with nature isn’t just a pastime some enjoy, it’s a practical and spiritual need for all people. I’ve ended up reflecting on that a fair bit in my music since then. 

Whose relationship with the natural world would you most like to have an impact on?

My kids. 

Would you rather be invited to Victoria and David Beckham’s Muskoka cottage, or Harry and Meghan Sussex’s B.C. escape?

I liked Suits but I’m going with Posh and Becks. 

Camping: yes or no?

Nah, sorry!

Want more Moose? Check out how other artists, athletes, politicians and notable people have answered The Narwhal’s Moose Questionnaire.